Child's Play
by Nantai
Summary: Hermione didn't expect to see him in the bar. Well, to be honest she didn't expect to see him at all. And while curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back.


Hermione had to admit that she had made better decisions in the past than to go to a bar mostly frequented by soldiers on leave for the weekend. They tended to be even more rambunctious than Gryffindors after a won Quidditch match and she had lived through that for seven years. But Ginny and Alice had insisted.

Alice Louise Neaton was the most fairy-like girl Hermione had ever encountered but she was also a scarily talented curse breaker and could drink Russians under the table. Ginny and Alice together were an unstoppable force of nature.

All three of them had started curse breaker training together and Hermione had been a tad prejudiced about the auburn haired fairy at first. Alright, very prejudiced. Her experience in the war and her general intellect had led her to believe that she could beat the Beauxbatons student easily. A hour into their duel they were both panting and their hair fizzing with magical energy but neither had been close to giving up.

But they didn't bond over the duel. They bonded over their love for cats. Every kind of cat and especially the unwanted 'ugly' ones.

When they moved in together they had both brought their respective familiar. Crookshanks had taken one look at the huge black tomcat that Alice named Greebo and vanished under the cupboard. Hermione still hadn't figured out how he managed to fit under there.

But just like the two witches the two cats finally bonded and if they brought home the occasional rabbit or fox neither woman would say a thing.

However Hermione's friendship with Alice had led her to this way too full, way too loud place with way too self-assured soldiers. But she had to admit that she was smiling brightly at the antics of her two female best friends. They flirted outrageously and actually had beaten at least three men at arm wrestling by now.

Suddenly Hermione noticed a younger soldier who had just entered the bar. He was with a group of friends but he held himself very differently. More like-

"Oh, damn," Hermione whispered and even though it was rather loud Ginny heard her.

"What is it 'Mione?" she asked craning her neck to see what the former was looking at. "Oh fuck."

"What's up ladies?" Alice asked coming over abandoning the guys she had just wrestled with. "Somebody you know?"

"Yep. Somebody who shouldn't even be here," Hermione answered distractedly.

"He was at our school," Ginny explained at the questioning look from Alice. "He was on the other side if you understand my meaning."

Alice turned to look at the guy as well. "He's a pureblood, isn't he? I think I recognise him from the papers…back then."

"Yeah, Theodore Nott, last heir to the Noble House of Nott," Ginny said with much less venom than she had after the war. "As soon as he was declared innocent he vanished, nobody knew where he was."

"Seems that we have found him," Alice said jokingly.

"What I don't understand," Hermione said ignoring Alice's comment. "Why did he join the muggle army?"

"Only way to find out is asking," Alice replied with a wink and Ginny snorted.

"Last time we saw him he wouldn't deign to speak with a muggle-born," she commented drily.

"But he is in the army," Hermione said. She looked down at the remnants of her beer. "I'm going to ask him."

Ginny and Alice exchanged a suspiciously calculating look but Hermione ignored them. They were trying to set her up since the first day of their friendship and after a few miserable dates she had stopped listening to them.

oOo

When Hermione finally reached Nott he stood with his friends at the dart board and was currently nailing each shot. She waited until he was done and when he turned around to give the darts to the next one his eyes fell on her and became huge.

"Excuse me guys," he said and came over to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her outside. "How did you find me?"

Hermione recoiled at his tone. "My friends and I were just having an evening out. I swear I'm not here on behalf of-" she trailed of and made a vague motion with her hand. She didn't exactly want to say wizarding world in front of so many muggles.

But Nott didn't relax. He cursed and paced in front of her. "Who is with you? Potter? Weasley?"

Hermione shook her head. "Ginny and another friend who didn't attend Hogwarts."

"At least something," Nott muttered, his back to her. When he turned around Hermione saw that he was ghostly pale and his hands were shaking. "Would you three swear not to tell anybody in the wizarding world?"

"Of course," Hermione said quickly. "But why?"

"I don't care for them to find out," Nott bit out and resumed his pacing. "I like not being harassed for who I was."

"Why did you join the military?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Because I like it," Nott answered coldly. "There is nothing like it you-know-where."

"What do you like?" Hermione looked at him baffled by his answer.

"I like fighting, I like getting in dangerous situations," Nott said looking more murderously every minute.

"I'm sorry, we were just wondering. It seemed strange," Hermione said sheepishly.

Nott was saved from answering by his friends, Ginny and Alice coming outside.

"Oh, good, he didn't kill her," one of the men remarked with a smirk.

"I think 'Mione could hand him his arse if she really wanted," Ginny answered and winked at Nott's friend.

"Where do you even know each other from?" another friend asked.

"From school and I wouldn't kill her Dickens," Nott said the easy smile he had worn earlier returning.

"Why? Scared, Nott?" the man named Dickens asked.

"I'm afraid, yes," he answered with a grin. "Her friends are downright scary, all of them."

One soldier had stayed in the back until now. He stepped forward, examining Hermione closely. His cold, assessing eyes reminded her of Dolohov in their duel during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Finally the man spoke up. "I'm Andrej Perkin, what's you name?" He stretched his hand out to her and Hermione grasped it firmly.

"Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you," she answered and enjoyed the flicker of surprise at the strength of her grip.

Then the other friends of Nott introduced themselves as well. Dickens finally complained about the lack of alcohol and they returned inside. Obviously it had been decided that the women would be included in their group for the evening because Perkin and another man called Smytheson ("It's not spoken Smithson!") engaged Ginny and Alice in friendly banter.

Hermione found herself in between Nott and Dickens. "So, what are you doing for a living?" Dickens asked and Hermione was suddenly very happy that the girls had spun an intricate lie for their muggle lives.

"I'm an archaeologist," she replied easily. "Actually I just came back from a trip to Iraq trying to locate Akkad."

Nott raised an eyebrow next to her. "Isn't it a bit dangerous in Iraq? We have been on missions there and never went without quite a lot of ammunition."

Hermione shrugged. "Of course it is dangerous, but we'd like to salvage as much as possible before the war destroys it."

Dickens nodded solemnly and they fell silent for a moment. Then the blond Scot came up with a little bit safer questions about things she had found during excavations and they were chatting away.

When Dickens went to the restroom Nott leaned closer. "You aren't really an archaeologist, are you?"

"No, curse breaker actually," Hermione answered quietly. "All three of us. But we were really in Iraq and we really found the things I told you about, they just had a bit more to them."

Nott chuckled. "Dickens would flip if he knew."

"Positive or negative?" Hermione asked teasingly.

"Positive, if I told him who I really was he would demand to be taken to all the important places and gape like a child," Nott said with a big grin.  
"You are so different from the boy I remember," Hermione remarked pensively.

Nott looked her over, but his eyes had lost the cold from earlier. "We all changed, you probably only noticed because you haven't seen me since the trials."

"Maybe," Hermione said toying with her bottle of beer. "If I asked you to dinner, what would you answer?"

He focused on his glass for a moment. "I would answer that I will probably deploy in about a month, so what about next Saturday?" He looked up at her shyly and Hermione smiled at him.

"I'm free," she said with more confidence. "You'd prefer a muggle restaurant, right?"

"I'm not quite ready to face the wizarding world yet," Theo answered quietly.

"That's completely understandable," Hermione said reassuringly. "Maybe we could slowly reintroduce you later?"

Theo didn't answer directly, but then he smiled shakily. "Well, if I manage to survive Iraq the wizarding world should be child's play, right?"

Hermione laughed. "Probably."

* * *

a/n: So what do you think, should I continue this little something? As always all betalove goes to viv-heart!


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